Chevrolet has officially announced the specs of the diesel-powered version of the 2014 Cruze. The 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine generates 148hp and 258 pound-foot of torque. Chevrolet promises that the clean diesel engine will achieve 42 mpg on highway, which oddly enough is the same as the $5,000 cheaper Cruze ECO. The vehicle will also accelerate to 60 mph in 8.6 with its standard six-speed automatic transmission.

According to Chevrolet, clean diesel engines generate at least 90% less nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions compared to previous generation diesel power plants. In order to achieve its “clean” status, the engine uses urea injection that is supplied from a 17-liter tank. As a result, customers will lose a bit of trunk space to accommodate the urea tank. Another downside is that the tank will need to be refilled every 10,000 miles.

“Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel is the most sophisticated passenger car diesel engine GM has ever produced,” said Jens Wartha, GM global program manager and chief engineer for the Cruze’s diesel engine. “We merged European diesel expertise with the real world driving preferences of North American consumers.”

The 2014 Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel will be priced from $25,695 including destination charge. The vehicle comes with the Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system, a two-year maintenance plan, and a five-year 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

In the UK, you can get a Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 (diesel-electric hybrid) for around 27,000#. (~$42.5k US).

You can also get a Volvo V60 diesel-electric plug-in hybrid. But it's also 48,775# (~$77k US) which, yes, is VERY expensive, (it starts to encroach on the Tesla Model S Performance price range). But fundamentally, the technologies exist (obviously). Why they don't do it? Because car companies think that they won't sell and that they're too expensive to produce/manufacturer. I happen to disagree with the OEMs, because I think that that's really more like code for them being lazy. But that's my opinion.

(There are a few other concept diesel-electric hybrids out there. Some are also plug-in, some aren't.) But it's DEFINITELY doable.